Program_strategy_workshop_Nutrition

(This work stream was led by Mariama Fofanah)

See the files:

Nutrition approaches phase 1:

Discussion notes:

Plans for phase 2:

AFRICA RISING Nutrition Approaches Phase
Key objectives:

1. 1. Improve the food security and diet diversity of households, with a focus on women(pregnant, lactating, women of child bearing age) and children under five (first 1000 days)

• Increase production of diversified crops/livestock to improve access and availability
• Increase consumption of diversified diets amongst women and children
• Improve nutrition knowledge and care practices through effective behaviour change strategies
• Build capacity at the individual and institutional levels for research on nutrition, nutrition –agriculture linkages, post- harvest , nutrition sensitive soil management and value addition
• Expand nutrition sensitive value chains and market linkages for improved nutrition
• Improve post- harvest technologies for improved nutrition
• Identify agriculture impact pathways to nutrition(income/markets, production diversification, nutrition education/behaviour change, women empowerment

Nutrition Approaches

• Ø Assessment
  • Ø synthesize and publish results of completed household nutrition studies in all sites
  • Ø Screen past and ongoing nutrition pilot interventions to ensure they are nutrition sensitive, select potential promising interventions
  • Ø Map out relevant nutrition stakeholders /development partners and explore partnership opportunities: identify entry points for effective linkages for nutrition outcomes

• Ø Crop and livestock diversification for nutrition: promote integrated farm systems (crop and livestock diversification)
  • Ø Test and follow up on crop interventions protocols in the three sites
    • Ø Irrigated vegetable and fruit gardens
    • Ø home gardens
    • Ø Improved varieties of legumes (fava beans, pigeon peas, chick peas etc.
    • Ø production of improved planting material of indigenous fruit and vegetable trees
    • Ø Participatory modelling of farms and systems for nutrition security and income
    • Ø Test technologies for conservation of fruits and vegetables from indigenous trees and vegetables
    • Ø Evaluate and Scale up production of indigenous fruit and vegetable tree gardens
• Ø Livestock interventions:
  • Ø Carry on activities promoting poultry/ small ruminant production
  • Ø Sheep fattening, beef fattening , improved breed dairy cattle for increased availability of animal source products
  • Ø Improve soil management
    • Ø Carry on studies to evaluate the effect of various fertilizer blends on nutritional quality of grain crops and their residues for livestock
    • Ø Nutrition education, awareness creation ,training and policy advocacy to promote consumption of nutritious foods (both animal and plant sources
      • Ø Design/adapt Nutrition Training of Trainer modules on (diet diversification, malnutrition, care feeding practices, hygiene, and sanitation) in all sites: Cascade trainings in the community to reach target beneficiaries.
      • Ø Scale out nutrition trainings on agriculture nutrition health linkage targeting community intuitions, innovation platforms and farmer research groups
      • Ø Scale out sensitization campaigns/trainings to improve knowledge on crop/livestock diversification, diet diversification and mitigating aflatoxins
      • Ø Scale out Implementation of cooking demonstrations at the HH level
      • Ø Conduct training on processing and utilization of nutritious locally grown foods
      • Ø Collaborate with Africa RISING communication team and engage innovation platforms for technology dissemination
      • Ø Behaviour change strategies for improved nutrition
        • Ø Conduct studies (Ethiopia)to identify the most effective behaviour change strategy relevant for agriculture interventions
        • Ø Design /adapt relevant Behavior Change Communication (BCC) material
        • Ø Scale out disseminate behaviour change communication materials targeting institutions and beneficiaries
        • Ø Carry on work on research evaluating effect of BCC and education on nutrition
        • Ø Promote nutrition sensitive value chains, product development approaches
          • Ø Test and promote technologies to conserve indigenous fruits and vegetables for off season consumption
          • Ø Follow up work on studies testing nutrient retention in existing household/commercial food fortification to improve nutrition
          • Ø Develop nutritious complementary foods from locally grown foods
          • Ø Assess nutrient composition, sensory parameters, consumer acceptability of nutritionally dense complementary foods

• Ø Improve post- harvest technologies and mitigate aflatoxin contamination for improved nutrition
  • Ø Carry on studies on effect of traditional processing methods on nutrient retention and bioavailability
  • Ø Introduce, evaluate and promote technologies to reduce post-harvest losses
  • Ø Introduce, evaluate and promote labor -saving devices for value additions/processing (milk, butter, milk processing)
  • Ø Test the efficacy of atoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus as bio pesticides to reduce aflatoxin levels under farm conditions.
  • Ø Gender empowerment for nutrition
    • Ø Collaborate closely with gender team through joint planning and training

Discussion notes

Nutrition for accelerating AfricaRISING


The working team on Nutrition components of AfricaRISING discussed about the importance of nutrition in SSA and acknowledged the increasing interest of the global community and increasing investment needs that should be dedicated to nutrition.

The team started by taking stalk of the AfricaRISING research work that has been conducted in the AfricaRISING countries / regions in the last three years. The major engagements are the following:

In Ethiopia:

1. 1. Qualitative studies on assessing nutrition environment
2. 2. Assessment of food systems impacting nutrition
3. 3. Dietary assessment of women and children
4. 4. Assessment of knowledge attitudes and practices related to nutrition in Ethiopia
5. 5. Research work on assessing the effects of various fertilizer blends on crop quality and livestock feed quality
6. 6. Effect of cropping systems on household nutrition security and asset building
7. 7. Communication products emerged from recent Writeshop organized by Africa RISING.

In Tanzania:

1. 1. Collection of food samples from representative households and nutritional assessment
2. 2. Diet diversity study on selected households
3. 3. Assessing storage facility and subsequent effects on nutrition security
4. 4. Capacity building and nutrition education to develop protein dense food items
5. 5. Development of diversified food recipe
6. 6. Evaluation of maize fortification and its accessibility to the poor through working with millers
7. 7. Examples from Nafaka, study on the distribution of fortified maize through distributors; checking the distribution on who buys and accesses the mill
8. 8. QPM maize and its potential benefits; tradeoffs within the farming system
9. 9. Partnership with AVRDC in getting vegetable to the farmers’ fields
10. 10. Study on poultry value chains
11. 11. The challenge of all this work not being guided by nutritionists

In Mali:

1. 1. Understanding the pattern of vegetable production and consumption;
2. 2. Nutritional and dietary assessment;
3. 3. Nutrition barrier studies , KAP studies
4. 4. Development of nutrition guide for agricultural extension workers / training resources
5. 5. Development and facilitation of model nutrition support group

In Ghana:

• Food demonstrations to rural households
• Surveying nutritional status of households in Africa RISING sites
• Training health extension workers
• Poultry, small ruminants, pigs for income and nutrition
• Facilitating behavioral change of communities towards nutrition sensitive agriculture
• The challenges of measuring dietary biodiversity

Participants also discussed the various Nutrition approaches that should be considered, which may include:

• Integration of various disciplines; production from farms, marketing challlenges, landscapes diversity, processing to household nutrition;
• Clearly identify nutrition specific impact pathways through increasing income, home gardens, adjusting cropping systems, nutrition education
• Developing demand driven approaches to nutrition
• Diversifying systems to nutrition through improved soil nutrient management, home gardens, irrigation fields , livestock products
• Mapping of actors working in nutrition in various countries
• Identify entry points for effective nutrition outcomes

Phase 2 draft text

Nutrition gaps: gaps identified in Africa RISING sites from various baseline studies include: limited crop and livestock diversification farm systems, limited availability and access to nutritious foods, particularly animal source foods, lack of technical capacity in nutrition within government extension systems, inadequate nutrition knowledge and awareness, inadequate consumption and care feeding practices, limited opportunities in nutrition sensitive value chains, limited post -harvest technologies, increased post -harvest losses, soil management/fertility issues, aflatoxin contamination and food safety concerns.

Nutrition goals: Improve the food security and diet diversity of households.

Specific objectives:

• Increase production of diversified crops/livestock to improve access and availability
• Increase consumption of diversified diets amongst women and children
• Improve nutrition knowledge and care practices through effective behaviour change strategies
• Build capacity at the individual and institutional levels for research on nutrition, nutrition –agriculture linkages, post- harvest , nutrition sensitive soil management and value addition
• Expand nutrition sensitive value chains and market linkages for improved nutrition
• Improve post- harvest technologies for improved nutrition
• Identify agriculture impact pathways to nutrition(income/markets, production diversification, nutrition education/behaviour change, women empowerment

Target groups: women (pregnant, lactating, women of child bearing age) and children under five (first 1000 days)

Nutrition approaches: in the next phase, the nutrition team propose the following nutrition approaches:

1. 1. Develop a nutrition framework and action plan: develop a nutrition action plan harmonizing nutrition goals, objectives, activities, indicators across sites
2. 2. Assessment: synthesize nutrition data and draft publications and briefs
3. 3. Integrated Crop and livestock diversification for nutrition
   1. a. Promote consumption of nutritious fruits, vegetables and legumes through crop diversification
   2. b. Promote consumption of animal source foods through livestock diversification
   3. c. Promote diversity for nutrition
   4. 4. Research on soil management: evaluating the effect of various fertilizer blends on nutritional quality of grain crops and their residues for livestock
   5. 5. Nutrition education , training, behaviour change, policy advocacy and women empowerment:
      1. a. Scale out nutrition education and training targeting institutions (agriculture extension, health, innovation platforms, private sector, education etc.
      2. b. Explore partnerships to scale out nutrition trainings at the community level)
      3. c. Promote innovative Behaviour Change Strategies (BCC) to improve consumption and care feeding practices amongst target farmers
      4. d. Behaviour change strategies targeting high income farmers
      5. e. Implement gender transformative approaches for improved nutrition outcomes
      6. 6. Nutrition sensitive value chains
         1. a. Test pilot activities in nutrition sensitive value chain: focus on processing, packaging of fruits, vegetables, dairy foods
         2. 7. Post –harvest and product development: conduct product development research focused on nutrient dense complementary foods